The Joy of Seeing My Brothers Become Parents

A funny thing happens when, as the older sister, your younger brothers become parents. I am a year and twelve days older than my twin brothers, Bobby and Eddy. Family lore tells of the first time Bobby and Eddy were taken for a dip in the ocean, and I had to be removed to Grannykin’s beach house because I was sure “my babies” were going to become victims of the sea. As I was older by a year and twelve days, Bobby and Eddy always seemed like my babies; my personal toys that my parents gifted me with. Of course, now that I am older, I am in touch with reality enough to know that they were not “my” babies, but take it from me; the bond that formed when they were born is very much alive in my heart.

Sure, I could paint a picture of a doting older sister who never tormented her little brothers a day in their lives. The truth is, I was the boss. Bobby and Eddy were very smart, even as small children, and they realized that they could sit back and watch Christine make all the mistakes children make and laugh at me while they learned from me. For the record, I was grounded countless times; Bobby and Eddy were never grounded for anything in their lives. Hell, I was even grounded from Halloween one year! It is not that I am angry that they were spared the removal of the phone from their rooms or the times they got to spend with their friends while I stayed at home…a prisoner. Rather, I admire my brothers for carefully watching and never pushing past the boundaries that they could clearly see did not work for me.

I love my Bobby and Eddy, and my sisters Ann and Christine. It has brought me so much happiness to see them become parents and I know they will excel at parenting just as they have excelled at everything they have ever done. It is amazing for me to watch from the vantage point of Auntie and see the transformation that has occurred since my brothers became parents.

My own parents had to wait a long time until they got the phone call that a little baby girl was waiting for her parents to come get her from Chicago, Illinois. A year and twelve days later my parents gave me the best gift a parent can give their child, siblings. I will walk this earth with Bobby and Eddy being the only people who have been there my entire life, or at least the part I remember. I am so blessed to have my brothers and I can’t wait to see what their children grow up to be. Knowing my brothers and sisters, they, too, will be exceptional. This is the beginning of our journey, and it is one that I am so happy to be a part of.